


All The Dogs Are Lying Down

by why_didnt_i_get_any_soup



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Coda, Episode: s05e10 Status Asthmaticus, F/F, F/M, Fix-It, Implied/Referenced Torture, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, M/M, Season/Series 05, Torture, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-18 13:18:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 16,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4707374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/why_didnt_i_get_any_soup/pseuds/why_didnt_i_get_any_soup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The pack regroups after the events of "Status Asthmaticus"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be chaptered and I'm expecting to write at least one relatively graphic sex scene later on. More tags will be added as the story progresses. (And to those waiting for the sequel to Lost and Found!!! I promise it is coming!)

By now, the school would be an inaccessible crime scene; Lydia couldn't go back for her phone but she could potentially be implicated in… _whatever_ happened there. And something _had_ happened there—she knew she had been walking towards the school, like the banshee was pulling her, but then suddenly she stopped and the pull was gone. Like someone died…but then…wasn't dead anymore. But she couldn't go there, not with her phone still there. Instead, she hitched a ride with a stranger to Scott's house.

"Lydia?" His mother looked shocked.

"Where's Scott?" she asked and Melissa recognized the urgency immediately.

"He's upstairs… _healing_." She said, meaningfully.

"I need to talk to him."

Melissa said nothing, resigned to having the teenager enter her house, and moved aside for Lydia to step in.

Lydia dashed up the stairs and slid in to Scott's room where he was clearly half asleep, still sitting up in the bed. He startled awake at Lydia's noisy entrance. His reaction was the same as his mother's.

"Theo." She huffed out, in between breaths.

"I know. He's trying to make you guys his pack." He looked down at his lap and Lydia saw the insecurity there.

"No," she shook her head furiously, "he's _made_ his own pack."

"What do you mean?" Scott threw his covers off and looked like he was about to leap off the bed.

"All the chimeras…the dead ones…he brought them back. I don't know what it was, but he injected them with something." She imitated the motion of the injection into her neck and saw Scott look horrified at the notion.

"He brought people back to life?" Scott's voice was quiet. "Even Hayden?"

Lydia nodded, feeling the solemnity slide onto her face. "Even Hayden."

"This is so not good." He hopped off the bed and immediately started trying to pull on his shoes. Lydia stopped him, placing her hands on his shoulders.

"What happened to you?" She stared him down, forced his eyes to make contact with hers.

"What do you mean?" He tried to look away but Lydia caught him by the chin.

"Someone died at the school…but they're not dead anymore." She gave him a meaningful look.

"Theo…killed me?" His voice went up, like a question. "God, that sounds weird to say."

"That bastard." Lydia watched Scott pull back from her, like he was scared. It must have been something in her eyes. _Good_. She hoped she looked like murder. "Your mom said you were healing. And I agree with her. You need to stay here and rest."

"How can I sleep at a time like this?" He protested but let Lydia pushed him into a sitting position on the edge of his bed.

"We can handle ourselves. We can regroup and figure this out. But most importantly, we need our alpha _alive_."

Lydia saw what her words did to Scott, his whole demeanor getting brighter.

"Thank you." He said, relief obvious in his voice as he moved forward and caught Lydia around the waist, pulling her into a tight hug and resting his head on her chest for a few seconds. Lydia couldn't help but remember the time her and Scott made out at school, before she knew him, before he was her _alpha_. Before she was a banshee. This hug could have been weird, but it wasn't. It was comfortable. And she felt the warmth spreading through her, almost like home.

She pulled away. "Let me see your phone." She demanded, holding her hand out with authority. Scott didn't argue, just leaned over and picked it up from his bedside table before handing it to her.

"I'm calling Kira to come watch over you while I see if I can find the rest of them."

"I think Liam's at the hospital. That's probably the best place to start." Scott said as he rearranged himself back on to his bed.

"Gotcha." Lydia said and called Kira.

As Lydia was leaving the house, she saw Melissa milling around the kitchen in her scrubs and looking like she was about to leave.

"They called me in, since there's a bunch of people coming in to the hospital right now. They said Sheriff Stilinski is there. You need a ride?" Her face looked like she knew Lydia would say yes.

"Thank you."

Melissa smiled at the relief obvious on Lydia's face.

…

Stiles was sitting next to his dad, staring at his dead cell phone in his hands when Lydia barged into the room. Clearly, it was passed visiting hours but Melissa got her into the ICU with no questions asked.

"Jesus Christ." Stiles startled and jumped up from his chair.

"How's your dad?" she asked, instead of making an excuse for her sudden appearance.

"He's got some internal bleeding and they're going to have to take him in for some surgery tomorrow." Stiles' stomach rolled as he recited what the doctor had told him. "He should be okay. Thank god I got to him in time."

Lydia nodded solemnly, indecision on her face.

"Scott?" He felt hopeful.

Lydia waited for a second, her mouth opening and closing before responding. "Theo…killed him." Stiles' stomach dropped and he rushed forward, not sure what he was doing with his body. He grabbed Lydia around the waist and pulled her to him. Her arms came up and wrapped around his shoulders. "But he's okay, Stiles. He's _okay_. I don't know exactly what happened, but he's at home. He's okay. I called Kira and she's going over there to watch him."

"I have to go over there, Lydia. I _have_ to go."

"No. Stiles, we need to find Liam and Malia right now."

"I don't know where they are." Stiles admitted, feeling a kind of desperation at the mention of his now ex-girlfriend.

"Scott said they should be here. Not sure where, exactly. But we need to find them before Theo does."

"Okay. Let's go." Stiles kissed his dad on the forehead—the sheriff wasn't awake, anyway—and grabbed Lydia's hand before moving out into the hallway of the ICU.

"So, where's Theo then? How much time do you think we have?"

Lydia's voice was quiet when she spoke into Stile's ear. "He found the Nemeton. He brought all the chimeras back. Including Hayden. I don't think we have much time at all."


	2. Chapter 2

They found Liam right where Melissa said he was be, still hunched on the floor. He watched through watery eyelashes as Lydia and Stiles made gestures towards each other silently. Finally, he saw Lydia step forward to talk to him.

Crouching down, Lydia gently cleared her throat. "Liam, dear," she said, sounding like his mother. "We need you to get up and come with us." She was gentle but he could her the urgency in her voice.

"Can't." He couldn't make himself speak more than that. He felt like there was a cottony glue sticking his tongue to the roof of his mouth. Self-consciously, he pulled his knees up toward his chest, trying to curl in on himself and make the other two disappear.

"And why is that?"

"S'dead."

"Hayden?" Lydia asked, keeping her tone neutral and gentle.

Liam just nodded.

"Honey, I need to tell you something…"

Lydia gently laid out how Theo brought her to the Nemeton and she saw him bring Hayden back to life.

Liam found new vigor in his limbs and he jumped up, immediately pacing the room. "This is really fucking bad. What do we do?"

"We're not really sure, yet." Stiles admitted. "We need to meet up with the pack. We're gonna try to rendezvous back at Scott's house before this pack of Theo's can find us."

"This is so _fucked_." Liam felt the panic rising. He could fight, sure. But these chimeras were pretty tough to take down, especially one on one. But he had _no idea_ about _undead_ chimeras.

"I agree." Stiles said, his usual sarcasm bleeding through. "That's why we need to go. _Right now_."

"All right, all right. Where are we going?"

"We have to find Malia." Stiles glanced down at his phone. "Do you have your phone with you?"

"Yeah." Liam pulled it out and opened up the screen. It still had more than 50% battery.

"Thank god." Stiles snatched it and dialed Malia.

Liam could hear Malia through the phone as Stiles spoke to her.

"Where are you?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I'm in a warehouse somewhere with Braeden."

" _Braeden?_ " Stiles practically exploded at Malia.

"Yeah?" Liam could hear Malia's skepticism through the phone. "Why?"

"I just…thought she was gone. I didn't know where she went, actually…"

"Her and Derek have been looking for..." her voice got quiet and Liam actually couldn't hear what she said.

"Oh." Clearly Stiles understood why she was so quiet. His eyebrows were furrowed as he pushed a hand through his hair.

"Yeah…Anyway, they're saying you should get here. Like, _ASAP_."

"I don't have the Jeep, remember? And I think Lydia hitched a ride here with Ms. McCall after walking to their house from the middle of nowhere after she was kidnapped by Theo, who I think is now out to get us so?"

"You need a ride?"

"Yes, that would be lovely."

…

Malia picked them up from around back, where the ambulances pull in with patients. The three of them looked particularly bedraggled and Malia couldn't say she felt any better.

Looking at Stiles, her heart clenched but he avoided her eyes the entire time, instead he let Lydia fill her in on everything that they all knew collectively. She was only half listening, continually glancing in her rear-view mirror to see if Stiles was looking at her or…something. She didn't know what she wanted from him. An acknowledgement that they had broken up earlier in the day? Or maybe begging to get back together? But not stoically staring out the window and ignoring everyone else in the car. It was weird to see him like that. He was never that quiet, even when he was thinking. But he wasn't even displaying any of his usual nervous ticks—no leg shaking, no finger chewing, no knuckle cracking. It was bizarre and intensely silent to Malia's honed ears.

…

"I can't believe we're back in a warehouse, after everything." Stiles addressed to the whole room, his voice echoing. Braeden wasn't interested in his drama.

"Where are Scott and Kira?" She said, instead, looking to Lydia who she clearly trusted to know more than she trusted Stiles. He narrowed his eyes at her but didn't say anything.

"Kira's bringing him here. He…needs some time to heal and we wanted someone to watch over him while I collected the rest of the pack."

"Smart. You," she pointed directly at Lydia and loved that the redhead didn't back down, "Tell me what's been going on around here." She did a little circular motion with her finger. "Malia hasn't been too helpful."

"Hey!" Malia cried from over by the door, where she was lounging next to Derek.

"Don't bother arguing." Derek advised and Braeden found herself smirking at how comfortable he'd gotten with her.

"Where have you been, by the way?" Stiles spoke up before Lydia could start in.

"Doing research. In Mexico, mostly." Braeden bit out. She did _not_ like Stiles and he clearly knew it.

"Okay. Fair enough." He conceded, throwing his hands up and then deliberately crossing them over his chest.

Lydia made a face at him, clearly wanting to shout something to the effect of _what the fuck, Stiles?_ But didn't. Braeden liked this girl a lot. Instead, Lydia dove right in about the chimeras and the Dread Doctors and fucking _Theo_.

"Sounds like a fucking headache."

Lydia rubbed at her face and forehead. "More than you know." She walked over to sit next to Derek and Malia. They all seemed comfortable near each other and that was comforting in a way Braeden didn't expect. But it was good to find welcome in their own home town. Derek's reputation was very touch-and-go there for a while.

"I just wanted a normal senior year." Lydia sighed. "I guess that's too much to ask when you're a _banshee_ and you live in Beacon Hills."

Braeden's mouth curved into a smile, the closest she wanted to get to a laugh at the moment, but it clearly eased Lydia's tension; her shoulders slumped down just a little.

"But yeah, this was _not_ a blast from the past that I really needed."


	3. Chapter 3

"Why do you like her?" Stiles asked Derek, knowing perfectly well that Braeden could hear him across the room where she was showing Malia some weapons that Malia was enthusiastically absorbing information about. Lydia was watching too but she was a little distant from it. She seemed preoccupied. Liam was asleep, probably worn out from the super moon.

Derek felt affronted on Braeden's behalf.

"You don't know her like I do." He tried not to, but he was picturing the last time they had sex, right after a little scrape with a few other werewolves who had found out he was an omega running with a mercenary. They still had blood smeared on their skin and it was _so_ hot.

"No, clearly I don't. She does not like me at all."

"I think she thinks you're disingenuous, honestly."

"Seriously?" Stiles seemed genuinely taken aback.

Derek shrugged. "Yeah, that's why she's acting like that. You just gotta be a little more…real with her and then she'll start to trust you a bit more."

"Do I really need her to trust me?"

"Well, I'd say we're some of the best allies you've got right now so, yeah…might be beneficial."

"Okay." Stiles was quiet for a while and his voice was soft when he spoke again. "You know, I used to have a crush on you. I think I was attracted to the…danger?"

Derek couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Are you serious?"

"Deadly." Stiles nodded.

"Ha. That wouldn't have worked at all. I'm like six years older than you."

"I know."

"Plus, it looks like you've got plenty of danger in your life without me."

Stiles scoffed out a laugh. "No kidding."

That sat in silence for a second, watching the girls talk.

"So you and Malia broke up, huh?"

"How'd you know?" Stiles looked incredibly confused.

"She told us." Derek smirked.

"Oh, so you guys had a bunch of time to get all 'buddy-buddy' now, huh? That's great. Now everyone knows my business."

"Stiles, you're in a pack. Everyone's gonna know your business. Especially if there is inter-pack dating going on."

"You mean 'intra.'" Stiles corrected and Derek felt himself slip into that familiar irritation with Stiles, but this time he felt a fondness too.

"Yeah. Whatever, Stiles. You know what I meant."

"When the fuck are Scott and Kira gonna get here?"

"Something going on between you and Scott?"

Stiles looked bewildered. "How do you do that?"

"Werewolf, remember? I can read your vitals." Derek smirked. "Hopefully, they'll be here soon. I don't think this rain is helping anything. Plus, it's kind of hard to find this place."

…

The pack looked thoroughly bored and asleep when Kira and Scott finally showed up. Scott felt a weird drop in his stomach when he saw Stiles and Derek sitting next to each other and chatting like they'd never threatened to kill each other before. Kira immediately moved away from him, and that hurt too, walking up to Lydia and Malia to hug them tightly and tell them that she was pretty sure she was a chimera too and that she was fucking terrified about it. He could hear her talking to them but he knew that's what she was saying, since she had said the same thing to him as she hovered over him in his bedroom and told him she couldn't keep up a relationship at the moment. He understood, of course he did, but it didn't mean it didn't hurt. Or that he was hurting for her. He had seen the fear in Hayden, when she was told what she was and what was going to happen to her. He had watched her slowly dying on the operation table at the animal clinic. He'd already lost so many people—Erica, Boyd, Isaac, Allison—he didn't think he could handle one more death. Not again. He didn't know if the rest of the pack could either.

Before he knew what was happening, Stiles was standing in front of him, clearing his throat. Scott recognized that look. And that smell. Stiles was desperate to hug him, pull him into him. And when he looked up at Stiles' eyes, he saw the tears there and his whole body was shaking with his usual nervous tick, his shoulders bouncing and his weight shifting from foot to foot.

"Theo was lying." Scott said, knowing now that everything Theo had ever said was an manipulation, that he purposefully poisoned him and tried to get him killed. That it was always about getting Scott out of the picture.

Stiles was just nodding, frantically, in time with his body shaking and the tears were not being held back anymore. "I didn't mean to disappoint you, Scott." He croaked out and Scott couldn't leave him standing there. He knew the rest of the room was trying not to watch but he didn't care anymore. Stiles was his best friend and he had let Theo come between them. His hand flew out, fast as a snake striking, and pulled Stiles into him, just like Stiles had wanted. It was so intimate. Warmth and reconciliation. Stiles sobbed into his shirt, the tears getting it all wet. But Scott didn't care, he just hugged Stiles closer to him.

"You didn't disappoint me, Stiles. Just tell me the truth next time. I want to hear it from you. I don't ever want to have to hear something from someone else."

Stiles sniffed but didn't back away. "Okay." He said into Scott's ear.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so short. I wanted to get something out today but I didn't have time to write a full chapter. This is like a half chapter, I guess. Next chapter will be one and a half to make up for it.

Kira was nervous to be with the pack, knowing she was a chimera. She didn't even really want to be alone with Scott after finding that out since the last time they were alone she'd nearly killed him. She told Lydia as much over the phone but Lydia had just told her that didn't really have any other options at the moment and promptly hung up without even so much as a goodbye.

The group chatted a bit, in their separate groups—working out their separate issues—when her and Scott finally found the stupid place, after a very tense and silent car ride over. They mostly were talking about weapons and how the Dread Doctors seemed to be able to bend time and space, teleporting or something.

"We're not sure if we can get rid of them. Valack said they'd been here before…"

"They've been here before?" Braeden deadpanned at her.

"Did no one tell Braeden about the book?"

"What book?" Braeden and Derek chimed in simultaneously.

Kira felt a little overwhelmed by their strong voices echoing at each other through the empty warehouse.

"We found a book in one of the chimera's rooms. I think it was a plant by Theo? But Dr. Valack wrote it several years back about the last time the Dread Doctors were here. It was mostly considered a work of fiction but he didn't want that story to go untold." Kira shrugged. "That's all I know, and I had a hard enough time reading it." She remembered her intense frustration when the fox wouldn't let her make sense of the words on the pages and the sickening feeling when she realized she'd been attacked by the Doctors herself. "I don't know if it has any useful information."

"We've actually all read it." Stiles spoke up, "Cover to cover, honestly. It helps you remember if you've encountered them. And most of us have, in one way or another." Kira wasn't sure but she thought he looked directly at her when he said that. "But it didn't seem to have much of an answer as to how they got rid of them. It seems like just kind of…left?"

Braeden nodded at Stiles, not really giving anything away but Kira felt a little tension there. Braeden was a no-nonsense type of person and Stiles was pretty much an all-nonsense kind of person so she could see that conflicting just a bit.

"The only thing I know for certain," Lydia spoke up, then, her eyes on one of Braeden's guns instead of anyone in the group, "Is that their entire operation seems to be built on some kind of pseudo-science that involves mercury. They're like alchemists…injecting people with all kinds of nasty chemicals. I think our answers might lie in that. I mean, that's how Theo brought those chimeras back…that has to count for something. Do we think we can get in contact with Deaton at all?"

"Deaton seemed a little…preoccupied when we saw him in Mexico. He's' clearly working on _something_." Derek cut in, looking a little concerned.

"That's not too reassuring, Derek." Stiles said, pulling a face.

"No, it's not." Derek agreed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's that double-dosage chapter.

Marin was in her pajamas with a hot cup of tea, sitting in front of the TV when her doorbell rang. She was expecting her brother back any day now so she easily hefted herself off the couch and answered the door.

She did not expect to see Lydia Martin and Stiles Stilinski looking nervous on her front porch.

"I do believe this is some violation of privacy, you two." She scolded, trying to maintain her air of authority even though her fuzzy pink pajamas had cute kittens on them

"This is a super emergency." Stiles' words were rushed and he looked awful. "Ms. Morrell, we have to find Deaton."

At that, her stomach sank. She hadn't heard from him, but he was a grown man with his own tricks up his sleeve; he could handle himself. At least, he had up until this point.

"You two better come in." She ushered the two high schoolers into her house, looking up and down the street to check if they'd been followed. Satisfied, she shut the door quietly and directed them into the kitchen where she had a cooling pot of water still on the stove. "I'm going to make you some tea."

At this point, she thought, the two of them should absolutely be wary of a mostly-stranger offering them anything of that nature but it was a clear indicator of how desperate they were. The Dread Doctors were wreaking havoc in Beacon Hills. Again. She had been in high school when they were last there and she had been pretty distant from the situation then.

"I know he was looking in to the Dread Doctors for you guys," She said as she made them some chamomile, with just a dash of _something_ to calm them down a bit, "But that was a few days ago. I haven't heard from him. But I know he was in Mexico, checking on that. That was the last I heard from him, though."

"It's pretty dangerous down there." Lydia said, looking distant and a little haunted. She remembered what Deaton had told her about the McCall pack's run-in with the Calaveras when they were after Derek Hale.

"You can say that again." Marin handed them both their tea and sat at the table with them. "So, should we try to go down there and find him?"

Stiles and Lydia were silent as they looked at each other. "I'm not sure we can afford to leave right now…" Lydia finally admitted. "Our pack is…in some trouble right now."

"I think we're going to have to do battle _tonight_." Stiles admitted, looking incredibly nervous. "Theo is after us and I don't think we can hold him off before he starts going after our friends and family."

"You're probably right." Marin sighed. "I guess I'd better go look for Alan then. And Stiles," he looked up, startled, "You need to get a weapon other than a baseball bat."

…

Mason was vaguely aware of his phone buzzing but he was mostly asleep at that point and in his half-conscious mind it was actually a chainsaw buzzing. It stopped for a second and then picked up again. At that point, he realized that it was his phone. He scrabbled for it on his bed, fingers gripping around the slick case. There was Liam's face and name on the screen. His stomach dropped and answered it as he bolted up in his bed.

" _Liam?_ " his voice cracked but he didn't care.

"Mason, I'm coming to get you. Met me outside in two minutes."

Mason nodded and then said "okay," before pulling on his shoes. He had fallen asleep in his clothes, waiting for this call. But it didn't quite go the way he thought it would. He knew something was very wrong if Liam was coming to pick him up.

Scott was driving the car—Malia's car?—and Liam was in the back seat, behind Scott. Mason hopped in next to him and Liam immediately grabbed his band, squeezing too tight. Scott was pointedly _not_ looking at them as Liam quietly and calmly explained that Theo was, at that very moment, running around with a pack of undead chimeras looking to do… _god knows what!_ Liam's hand that was gripping him so tightly was trembling just a little bit and Mason had the urge to pull his best friend into a tight hug and tell him it was going to be all right. Not that he knew that, but being friends with Liam so long had taught him how to placate him effectively.

"We're going to talk to Satomi. We need all the help we can get. Even if there's only three of them." Scott said from the front seat when Liam and Mason fell silent. The statement made Mason so sad as he thought about Brett and his family…He and his sister were all that was left of the pack other than Satomi.

"This is a city-wide issue so I'm pretty sure they'll help." Scott sounded a bit uncertain, like he was hoping what he was saying was actually true.

"Me and Brett are on pretty good terms." Mason piped up, his hand still clutched in Liam's. He loved the feel of it but he couldn't let his feelings for his best friend get in the way right now. This was life and death, but he couldn't stop himself from imagining running his hands through Liam's hair and kissing his softly and quietly in the back seat of a werecoyote's car on the way to beg for help from the only other wolf pack in Beacon Hills. It sounded so Romantic—capital R—but he kept it to himself, instead checking the time on his phone: 1:38 AM.

…

Brett didn't expect to get a text from Mason, especially not after they hooked up. And at almost two in the morning, he figured it had to be a booty call, which he actually didn't mind. He could have definitely gone for a good blow job at that moment. But instead of what he expected to be a drunken message, he found a very clear and urgent sounding message that he, Liam, and Scott McCall were coming to speak with what remained of Satomi's pack. Quickly, he replied back with the address to their home in the woods just in case they needed it.

It wasn't more than ten minutes before the urgent knocking at the door and nervous pounding of hearts were audible from the living room. Brett had woken up Lori and Satomi and informed them about the impromptu meeting. Satomi's mouth was set into a very hard and severe line as she rose from her bed in a delicate nightgown. Lori was in an oversized shirt and a pair of shorts and they all moved into the living room, not bothering to change into day clothes.

"Welcome, Scott McCall." Satomi said as she opened the door and gestured them into the living room. There were so many chairs and couches in the room, plenty of places for the other pack to sit but all it did was remind Satomi's pack of all the pack members who were gone—people that Brett had grown up with, who had done their fair share of raising him, born and made werewolves who brought their own personalities to a pack that size.

Scott, while Mason and Liam sat silently, explained everything the pack knew to Satomi with a stony face. It seemed like Scott had had a fair amount of time to think about Theo and his calculated betrayal. It was absolutely personal. And if Theo had done that to Brett, Brett would have been thoroughly pissed and out for blood already. He respected Scott in that way—and envied him that he had such a good group around him that could keep him in check and allow him to plan before trying to strike.

"The chimeras are pretty tough to take down." Scott said and looked over to Brett—he must have heard that Brett was there the night the one chimera was preying on people in Sinema. "So, will you help us?" Scott's eyebrows knitted together and he looked so tired in that moment.

Brett looked to Lori and to Satomi who's mouth was still in a severe line. "Absolutely, Scott. Anything we can do to assist, we will. We must look out for our own."

Brett saw Scott's shoulders slump in relief.

"Thank you so much, Satomi."

She smiled a worn and wary smile. "It is nothing. Let us change into some," she paused to look down at her nightgown, "proper clothes and then we will join you all at the warehouse."

Scott jumped up, clearly excited and shook her hand vigorously. "Thank you so much."

Brett couldn't help admiring Scott's humility.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, the author is an unobservant ditz who apparently doesn't remember anything from season 4! Thanks to danive who pointed out that Malia did, in fact, know Derek and Braeden. So, I've amended the part of chapter 2 where I made that blunder. (You can go back and read that, if you'd like or just know that I fixed it to where she knows them.)

"If they're going to attack anywhere, they're going to attack the hospital. It's the easiest and most vulnerable." Lydia felt a sense of panic as she spoke it. She and Stiles had just left Ms. Morrell's house and were driving back towards the warehouse when she said it. "God, we don't have time for this shit and innocent lives are on the line. It's not like the hospital has particularly _good_ security."

Stiles snorted at that, but it sounded a little hollow. "No kidding." He was worried about his father, trying to sleep before his surgery scheduled for a few hours later. She reached for his hand that was laying in his lap and laced their fingers together. His hand was warm and a bit sweaty but it reminded her of all the times she'd ever been close to Stiles, of the time she'd kissed him and how their relationship had changed so rapidly once she'd let him in. It was nice to be friends with him, nice to be able to talk to him. And it was nice to know he'd let go of the idea of them together. She'd noticed the way his eyes lit up around Scott, and she hoped Scott had noticed it too. But, if not, Lydia had ways of making these things fall in to place.

"Should we go straight to the hospital then?" Stiles said after a minute, squeezing Lydia's fingers comfortingly as they sat at a red light.

"What can we do? We're a human and a banshee? I don't have super strength. And like Morrell said, you need a different weapon than a baseball bat."

"I do know how to use a gun." Stiles said, a tad defensively.

"I do, too, Stiles. Doesn't mean I want to shoot people. Doesn't mean I want to kill our friends. I'm hoping we can find something to help the chimeras instead of killing them."

"But what if they're killing our family members?"

"Scott and Liam are going to ask Satomi's pack for help. Hopefully they can. We don't have Deaton around but we have Braeden and Derek and they're all pretty fierce. Plus, we've got to do something for Kira. It's kind of personal now."

"I just hate that I'm no good in a fight." Stiles lamented, pulling his hand away to push it through his hair.

"Well, you seem to be pretty good with a wrench." Lydia wasn't sure why it came out of her mouth but once it was out it was out. Stiles turned big, stunned eyes on her.

"How—"

"Scott told me. We're a pack and we have to be honest with each other. I think it's caused us big problems in the past." Lydia explained, thinking of the secrecy between Stiles and Malia regarding her mother and hoped that didn't come back to bite them in the ass.

"You're right." Stiles nodded and reached for his phone that was charging in the center console of Kira's car to call Scott and tell him to go to the hospital immediately. There was no answer. He left a message.

…

 As Scott, Mason, and Liam walked to the car parked in front of the house in the woods Scott checked his phone. He had a missed call and voicemail from Stiles. His stomach rolled a little at the sight of the name in his log. Had that always happened?

He listened to the message and his heart sunk when he realized he'd left his mother alone at the hospital with, as Stiles put it, "less than stellar security."

"This is probably going to go down at the hospital, isn't it?" Scott said, looking to Liam who he knew had  heard the whole message through the phone. Liam's lips were tight and he nodded tersely.

"Doesn't it always?"

Mason looked distressed. "They haven't even finished fixing up the damage from whatever y'all did last time."

Scott couldn't help but laugh at that. "I guess I'd rather people be alive than worry some minor property damage."

" _Minor_." Mason smirked and scoffed, but Scott could tell he was thrilled to be included in the pack, included in the planning, and included in the destruction of property—that hopefully led to the protection of innocent lives. Scott clapped a hand on Mason's shoulder, hoping it was comforting as they all filed in to Malia's car.

…

When Stiles and Lydia got back to the warehouse Kira was helping Braeden and Derek stock a van up with a bona fide arsenal.

She sized up Stiles with her eyes and he felt himself straighten up and narrow his eyes at her. Somehow, that seemed to earn him a little respect from her.

"If I give you a gun, do not shoot someone on your team." She stared Stiles down as she said that.

"Who? Me?" he acted shocked, craning his neck around to pretend to look and see if there was someone behind him she was talking to.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, you, Stiles."

"I'm really hoping it doesn't come to that." Lydia piped up and Stiles was so grateful for her in that moment. "I think we can cure them."

"Well, that's why we're going to sedate them and restrain them until we can figure that out." Braeden addressed Lydia directly and Stiles was shocked to see Lydia looking so taken aback. Not because she thought it was a bad idea, but because she hadn't thought of sedating and capturing them. Braeden smiled a genuine and huge grin then. Why did Braeden like Lydia so much? How did Lydia earn that kind of respect so instantaneously? Stiles crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the side of the van.

"So, you're giving us tranq guns?" He craned his neck to look inside the van.

"That's the idea." Derek interrupted, slamming the back closed. Stiles jerked away from the van and whipped his head around to see Kira laughing, at least a little. He was glad to see her in good spirits despite everything going on for her.

"Let's get this party _started!_ " Braeden called, heading for the driver's seat.


	7. Chapter 7

Kira didn't want to admit it but she was scared to go into battle. She was a chimera, somehow. And her fox was out of her control. She wasn't sure if she would snap on her own team, or if Theo was going to do something to her too. He would have to kill her and inject her with whatever he'd injected them with in order to control her in the same way but that didn't mean it wasn't an option.

Derek and Braeden were in the cab in the front and the rest of them were seated in the back along the two benches on either wall, like it belonged to a U.S. Marshal or someone else planning on arresting ten people. It just made Kira more nervous to be going to the hospital. She didn't notice her legs were shaking, bouncing like Stiles' always did until his hand reached over and landed on her thigh. It wasn't anything creepy or sexual. It was his way of letting her know he knew she was nervous and that he was there for her. She looked down at his hand, warm and a little sweaty, back up to his face. He was smiling but it looked like it was really mostly just for her benefit. She appreciated it anyway. She patted his hand, then, and he moved it away, to her shoulder instead.

The pulled the van into the ambulance bay, knowing the doors would be unlocked and they all stuffed tranq guns into their jackets and pants and purses. Kira had her belt on but she was hesitant to use it, to even take it off in case she lost control. Lydia squeezed her hand and handed her a tranq gun just the same. It was comforting to know that her friends still trusted her, even though she might have possibly killed someone without even knowing it and she did know that she tried to strangle Scott at a certain point.

They certainly didn't look inconspicuous—a pack of teenagers and twentysomethings barreling through the halls on a mission—and Kira was reminded of the fights with the oni, especially when Stiles was having his MRI. They weren't bad guys but they fought like it, regardless. Kira didn't want to kill fellow students from Beacon Hills High School—or anyone, for that matter—but as they stalked through the hallways, knowing full well that it was entirely too early in the morning and there would mostly only be a skeleton staff working, she steeled herself to the possibility.

"Scott, Liam, and Mason should be here any minute." Stiles announced, looking down at his phone.

"Maybe we can split up, then." Braeden suggested and Kira had enough humor left to hope she wasn't the Scooby Doo in the situation where Braeden and Derek were Daphne and Fred.

"Can we handle the whole pack if they're all together?" Lydia was very obviously concerned and Kira found herself nodding her own agreement to the fear.

"Shoot first, ask questions later." Braeden answered, shrugging and pulling out her first gun to make sure it was cocked.

"Are these gonna work?" Stiles piped up and Braeden gave him a long suffering look.

"The tranquilizers are a high enough dosage to take down a bear and they're laced with just enough mountain ash and wolf's bane not to be lethal. If they don't work, there was nothing we could do anyway."

"Well, that definitely makes me feel better." Stiles said sarcastically but he agreed to split up and walked on with Kira and Lydia. They all took out their guns and started to check them too.

…

Liam, Mason, and Scott were walking through the front doors of the hospital, being waved in by the nice lady who clearly knew Scott, when they heard several loud crashes and yelling.

"That was Stiles." Liam announced and the three ran towards the noises.

Around the corner, they found Tracy—the kanima hybrid—whipping her tail around as Lydia and Stiles crowded in toward her. Kira was lying on the floor, clearly having been hit with kanima venom. Liam had just a second to feel bad for her.

Stiles and Lydia, in turn, were keeping their distance, just enough to try to trap her into one spot while they aimed guns at her. Liam felt a sinking devastation at that. If they were aiming guns at Tracy, they would certainly aim guns at Hayden.

"Scott!" Stiles called, his eyes only flicking momentarily and Lydia pulled the trigger of her gun when Tracy saw the drop in defense from Stiles and began launching at him. To Liam's surprise, there wasn't a splatter of blood or anything as a bullet ripped through the girl. Instead, a little red puff had landed in her arm. _Tranquilizers_ , he realized, feeling an intense sense of relief.

"What kind of tranquilizers are those?" Scott looked amazed as he reached for Lydia's gun. She snatched it away before he could close his fingers around it and moved towards Kira where she was laying on the floor.

"Braeden said they were enough," she grunted as she began to drag Kira out of the hallway and towards a room, "to knock out a bear," she grunted again and stood up, "Will someone please help me? We have to get her out of the hallways in case someone else comes by but we don't have time to wait on her." Scott immediately stepped forward and scooped Kira up bridal style. She couldn't move her head so it flopped back as he moved towards a room. He sat her down, propped up against the wall.

"Thanks, Scott." Her eyes were a bit watery and a single tear slipped out of each. He wiped them away.

"Kira, it's nothing. We'll be back for you."

Liam felt like this wasn't something for him to see, but he was watching anyway.

"Thank you." She said again, her voice cracking just a little.

"Grab her tranq gun, in her bag." Lydia called over his shoulder. Kira watched as he opened and located the gun.

"We'll be back. I promise!" he called and was out of the room, shutting it quietly despite the obvious noise from the fights in the halls.

"The pack's split up, and they're just trying to kill anything. Not just us. We took down Corey too. Derek and Braeden went off on their own and who knows if Theo is roaming around or not." Stiles tried to catch the other three up as they paced down the hall. He handed his extra gun to Liam, knowing that his own gun only had three more darts in it after he took out Corey. Lydia handed her extra gun to Mason and Liam watched as his best friend's eyes went wide looking at the gun.

"There are four darts in each gun, so try to _aim_." Lydia said. "We should probably split up again. One werewolf per group so we can communicate if we need back up."

"Good plan." Scott nodded, grabbing Stiles' arm and pulling him his direction. "Liam, go with Mason and Lydia."


	8. Chapter 8

Derek and Braeden hadn't seen hide nor hair of any chimeras as they crept around the hospital. He felt rather uncomfortable there, sneaking around anyone walking down the hallway in scrubs.

"Do you think we should make our way back to the front, see if we can meet up with the rest of them? Scott and the other two should be here by now." Derek finally spoke up when they got into the stairwell. He usually preferred the elevator but they were moving down so he didn't say anything.

"I think we need to check the morgue, actually." Braeden admitted and started dashing down the stairs quickly.

"You don't think…" Derek stopped, a little horrified.

"I don't know, Derek." She looked grim. "This kid sounds a bit…"

"Messed up?"

"Yeah."

…

Stiles was grateful that he and Scott were the ones to run in to Hayden. And he was grateful for all the target practice his dad had had him do. He didn't think it would come in handy, but it had been at a time when Stiles was still scrawny and not too popular. He hadn't gone out to a range in a few years but it seemed to be muscle memory. He pulled the trigger and Hayden fell right over.

"That leaves one more." Stiles said. "Josh."

"And Theo."

"God, don't _remind_ me."

…

Mason was jumped by Josh, his shiny teeth flashing under the fluorescent lights. He didn't have time to pull his gun and was tackled right to the cold hard floor. He heard the tranq guns go off—one, two, three—but his eyes were screwed shut. Josh's body slumped on top of him, eyes still open but the chemicals took effect immediately.

"Little help here." He asked, opening his eyes and looking to Liam and Lydia. Both of them still had their guns up and Liam's eyes were closed. "Liam?"

"He shot at you with his eyes closed." Lydia admitted, clearly finding it humorous.

"You shot at me with your eyes closed?" Mason shrieked in response.

Liam cracked one eye open. "I panicked." He admitted and lowered his gun, opening both eyes to stare down at his best friend.

"Just get him off me." He shoved at the incapacitated boy's shoulders and was able to lift him a little, but not enough to get him all the way off. Liam, obviously still in panic mode, lunged forward and yanked the boy clean off him and set him against the wall next to Mason.

"We need to call  Scott and Stiles." Lydia said, helping Mason sit up on the floor. He reached for his phone, making sure it wasn't cracked before dialing Stiles and handing it Lydia obediently. She had a smug look on her face as she took the phone.

Thanking him, she waited for an answer.

Mason could only here a tinny indistinct voice over the phone but he looked at Liam who was concentrating pretty hard. He must have been listening in on the phone conversation. What a little Nosy Nelly. "We just got Josh."

The voice went again and Lydia repeated it to Mason, knowing he couldn't hear. "They just got Hayden."

At that, Mason turned to look at Liam, watching his expression fall and steel into something he couldn't read.

"That just leaves Theo." She said. "You don't think he'll try to make more, do you?" Mason watched Lydia's eyebrows knit together, and he could imagine she was envisioning Theo sneaking in to the morgue to see if he could find any corpses with some sort of transplant and injecting them. It wouldn't be a timely task, for sure. That boded well, at least.

Stiles replied.

"Should we head to the morgue, then?"

Stiles spoke once more and clearly was the one to hang up.

"So, the morgue?" Mason asked, reaching up for his phone. "I need to let Brett know. He should be here any second."

…

Braeden had learned how to be light on her feet at a young age, gentle enough to walk on rice paper and not tear it. It was something she prided herself on. She figured Derek could do the same, but she put her finger up to her lips to tell him to keep quiet and went in front of him, sneaking towards the morgue. It was dark inside and she couldn't see well. She was about to give up when she saw a tiny flash of movement. _No fucking way, that little shit weasel_. She made to pull her gun but felt a hand on her arm.

"We need to wait for the rest of them. We don't know what's going on in there." Derek breathed into her ear, barely audible even in the close proximity.

She nodded and they both slowly backed away from the door and into the stairwell again where they could call Scott.

He didn't answer. They called Stiles. He picked up.

"We're on our way to the morgue." He told Braeden quickly.

"We're there." She said, still whispering. "He's there. Not sure what he's doing but we're waiting on you. Please be quiet."

"Roger that."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm just so tired I couldn't write for weeks and now when I can't sleep at 4 am I churn out a longer chapter. FYI, in the last chapter I wrote that Lydia was tackled by one of the chimeras but I didn't like that so I changed it to Mason. Go back and glance over that if you want to.

Brett placed a hand on Mason's shoulder when he, Lori, and Satomi finally made it to the hospital and found the McCall pack. They were all lingering near the morgue, just out of hearing range for Theo. As far as they all knew, Theo had no clue they were on to him. Or that his small army had been taken down.

"We have a facility to hold all of the chimeras, while we figure out how to deal with them." Satomi offered directly to Scott.

He nodded and looked to Braeden. She moved forward and spoke up.

"We have a van that we can transport them in. Satomi, if you, Lydia, me, and Mason want to go around and collect them and take them back to your place."

"That sounds like a good plan." Satomi nodded and the five of them took off toward the upper levels where the unconscious teenagers were left scattered around the hospital. Brett found himself a little disappointed realizing that Mason wouldn't get to see him fight. It was silly but there it was.

All that was left were the five werewolves and Stiles, who, Brett had to admit looked pretty scrappy and not to be fucked with. There was something about that kid. Clearly, however, the task of clearing out the chimeras was just an excuse to extract most of the humans from the scene. _Probably for the best_ , Brett figured.

"So," Scott spoke up, his voice a little muffled from his shifting, "do we just charge in there and hope for the best?" he looked around as everyone but Stiles also shifted.

Derek nodded and extended his claws. "Let's do this."

And at that, they all ran in to the morgue. A few of them went around and came in from the other side. Sure enough, there was Theo, a wicked grin on his face as he looked around him at the group surrounding him.

"Couldn't handle me all on your own, eh Scott? Had to go running to other packs to fight your battles for you."

"I have allies, people willing to fight for me. You have to make a golem army." Scott spat and at the word golem Stiles looked impressed.

Theo didn't respond. He just laughed as he shifted, elongating his claws. Before he could move towards anyone, a loud metallic sound echoed over his shoulder and a giant crashed out of one of the refrigerator boxes. He was naked and had a nasty Y-shaped scar across his chest and a shaved head. He was close to 7 feet tall and he honestly didn't look human, and not because he was a chimera.

"What is that?" Lori squeaked and Brett turned to her, seeing the fear in her eyes. She was a born werewolf and she was scared. That did not bode well.

"He's my little pet golem, as you put it, Scott."

At that, Theo darted out of the room. Derek and Brett launched themselves at the giant man as Lori hung back, watching the behemoth effortlessly fling the two werewolves off him and into the medical equipment around the room. Brett was trying to get up off the floor as Scott stopped to break a leg off one of the tables before throwing it to Stiles and chasing after Theo.

…

Stiles watched Scott leap at Theo like a lion pouncing the slowest zebra. Theo kicked desperately, just like a wounded animal would. There was blood on the floor from where Scott's claws had dragged down into Theo's legs and he was crying out like he had any back up to save him. But even if they hadn't knocked out all the other chimeras, they wouldn't have come to Theo's rescue, Stiles thought. In the wild, it was dog eat dog and I'd rather you than me. So Stiles took the opportunity where he saw one. Theo was wounded and vulnerable and he was trying to twist in Scott's grasp so he could claw at Scott's face. Stiles wasn't going to stand for that. He took the metal table leg that Scott had given him and he swung it with all the force he could muster. Behind that swing was all that anger, the hurt that Theo had caused, the rift he tried to put between Scott and Stiles, the rift that worked, his endangerment of Stiles' dad. It was all there and Stiles her the loud CRACK as the metal collided with Theo's teeth and nose.

It got quiet as Scott and Theo went still. Scott pulled back and Theo shifted back into his human form. It was all broken. Bloody and mangled. His nose was pushed to one side, obviously broken and Theo spat out blood from his mouth, coughing as tiny clicks sounded on the floor. Stiles could obviously see little white squares in the spat out blood—teeth. Fuck.

Before Scott could think otherwise, he moved forward to put his foot into Theo's stomach. Pinning the boy there. Theo could have fought back. All three of them knew it and they knew Theo's nose would heal in a day or two. Though about the teeth…Stiles was pretty sure that those wouldn't grow back…but he was down and Scott's foot was crushing Theo's lungs as Scott heaved breath over him.

"Do it." Theo laughed and spat through the bloody gap in his teeth. "Go ahead and kill me." He was smiling, his hands coming up to grip Scott's ankle. It was like a warning, that Theo could slash at Scott's Achilles tendon at any point if he wanted to. He was hoping that the threat and that his laughter would goad Scott into really actually killing him.

"I'm not that kind of alpha." Scott spat, ripping his foot away from Theo and reaching down to pull the other boy up by the front of his shirt. Theo didn't fight it and he let Scott lift him so his feet were no longer on the ground. Without another word, Scott dropped Theo who scattered pathetically on the floor. He slipped in his own blood and hit his head on the floor.

Stiles was just barely holding himself back from punching the slimy little shit right in the face. Just for good measure. But before either he or Scott could make another move, Lori came scattering out of the morgue.

"He's coming!" She exclaimed and turned back, baring her teeth and claws at the door she'd just come through. Derek and Brett looked ridiculous as they clung to the giant man who was carrying them almost like a father carried his two little children like tree monkeys. The two werewolves were slashing at his face and neck and eyes and the man—creature?—was roaring at the pain but moving through it. "We have to take him out!" she screamed jumping at his midsection and narrowly missing one of his tree-trunk forearms as it came swinging at her stomach to knock her away. She was able to slash his stomach, across the vertical autopsy scar.

"The tranq guns!" Stiles realized and moved for his.

He had one more dart in his gun. He hesitated for just a second before shooting the last dart right into Theo's chest. Scott still had all of his darts left. He pulled out the gun from his back pocket and unsteadily tried to aim it at the giant man's neck though he was swinging it around trying to dislodge Derek and Brett. Stiles saw his hands wavering and knew Scott didn't have it in him to shoot someone, even if it was just with tranquilizers. Before he could let Scott continue with his tremoring hands, he snatched the gun from his best friend and shot all four darts in succession at the man's thighs. All but one landed and the man made a choking sound for a second. Derek, Brett, and Lori realized what had happened and jumped away from him as he started to shake and finally went limp, slumping heavily to the floor.

Stiles heaved a sigh and dropped his arm. "Thank fuck." He breathed out.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Got the fic up to 10k and 10 chapters. I'll be a little more diligent with this one, I hope. This chapter is short but it kind of gets us set up for the next bit, which is gonna be science, torture, and hopefully some sex!

They were so lucky they only had to carry the naked man up one flight of stairs to the ambulance loading dock where they'd parked their van. Braeden and Lydia were waiting outside the van with actual, real guns. It took three werewolves to carry the naked giant man and both girls looked quite shocked to see them carrying him. Not as shocked to see Stiles and Scott carrying Theo.

"Room for two more?" Derek asked, setting the man on to the asphalt behind the van.

"On the roof, maybe." Braeden snorted as she opened up the back doors and looked pointedly at the naked man. The chimeras were all chained sitting up and there was room enough on the floor between them. "The floor will have to do for him. We've got seating space for that one, though." She pointed viciously at Theo.

Brett, Derek, and Lori all looked at each other and nodded in silent agreement and they hoisted the man up and into the van.

"Hey, um, where the fuck is Malia?" Stiles spoke up, dropping Theo and clearly counting how many people were in their party.

"It's okay, Stiles." Derek spoke up, his voice appeasing. "She fell asleep at the warehouse. We figured we'd let her sleep since we were getting reinforcements anyway."

"Ah. Okay." Stiles nodded but Derek could tell he wasn't exactly happy with the answer. There was a moment of silence from Stiles and then " _Why the fuck did we leave her alone?_ "

"She's a werecoyote, Stiles. She's got good instincts and can handle herself."

"We had no idea of Theo would be here or anywhere else! He could have tracked us to the warehouse and waited until we'd all gone to look for him here and then _boom_ pounced on Malia."

"Stiles," Derek was using that placating voice again, like a teacher speaking to a child being unreasonable about sharing toys, "you can call her now. We'll take care of Theo. I don't think there's enough room for everyone in the van anyway. And we need to get them secured before they wake up. You and Scott can go pick her up."

"Someone needs to go check on Kira, too! It hasn't been a full hour!" Stiles was clearly panicking.

"We're gonna go get Kira right now, Stiles." Scott told him, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him back towards the hospital.

"Okay." Stiles sighed out, clearly not happy but mollified for the moment.

"Lydia and Mason are with Satomi, in her car. Brett and Lori are going to go with them. Me and Derek are gonna drive the van and you, Scott, and Kira can go get Malia and meet us at Satomi's place." Braeden explained, clearly forming a headache behind her eyes.

Stiles nodded then and followed Scott back into the hospital to go collect Kira.

"How do you put up with him?" Braeden asked Derek as the two of them climbed into the front of the van. They got the signal from Satomi in her car and started to follow her.

"He's an acquired taste. But he grows on you." Derek shrugged.

"Clearly!" Breaden rolled her eyes and put on some soft music to take her mind off the knocked out teenage chimeras in the back of the van she was driving.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here there be...kissing!! *Gasp* and some SCANDALOUS sleeping arrangements. Haven't gone into detail about that yet, but if you'll notice I've changed the tag from "liam/mason" to "liam/mason/brett" since I just REALLY want Mason to be happy. Anyway, finally setting up the sciles and next chapter will be the kira x malia!

Scott was honestly a bit appalled to find out that Satomi's house—a compound, really—had a significant amount of "supernatural-proof" holding cells in the basement. There was room for the three chimeras and Theo and then some…They were all locked up and still sedated by the time Scott arrived and Satomi took him downstairs to show him. She looked like she knew exactly what he was thinking and gave him a cold look that was meant to explain that it was a self-preservation measure. Though, it was clearly there before all but three members of her pack were killed.

"It's late, Scott." Satomi said, her face softening as she scanned over him. "You need to get some rest." She insisted, pulling him up the stairs and away from all the chained and unconscious chimeras in the basement. She made a vague gesture towards his torso where his shirt was crusted with his dried blood and the wound still was not completely healed. He hadn't really noticed as he was fighting but it seemed it had opened up a bit again and bled more, leaving sticky fresher blood.

As Satomi guided him up the stairs, a gentle hand at the small of his back, he felt so tired, everything crashing down on him. He was tired from losing his friends, and tired from fighting with Stiles, and tired from being up at 3:30 AM fighting mutant dead people in hospitals.

"We have many free rooms," Satomi explained, the _now_ being implied at the end, "You and your pack are more than welcome to stay here and we can deal with all of this after a good night's sleep and a good breakfast."

Scott hadn't even thought of food but he hadn't eaten in _hours_ , since lunch the previous day, and he wasn't hungry. All he could feel was the pain of the rip in his chest and the pain of he rips in his heart. But _he'd smoothed it out, right?_ It didn't bring back Satomi's pack, no matter how much he wished he could.

His pack was all lounging awkwardly and tiredly in the sitting room. Kira was spread across one couch with her head in Lydia's lap and her feet in Stiles'. The kanima venom had worn off but she had slept in the car on the way over. Poor thing. Mason was sandwiched between Liam and Brett on the love seat. And Derek and Braeden were shoulder to shoulder, absolutely alert and looking like they were ready to get back into a fight at any moment on one end of the couch while Malia slouched on the other end. When Scott and Satomi emerged from the basement all of those who were awake slid their eyes over.

"We need some sleep. Satomi's offered us rooms here and we can deal with this in the morning." They all nodded, hesitating only a moment before getting up and helping others maneuver.

"Malia." Lydia called and Malia perked up. "Can you help me with Kira?" Malia nodded silently and immediately rushed to Lydia's side. She awkwardly avoided eye contact with Stiles while pulling Kira's legs off his lap and helped her in between Lydia and herself. Silently, Satomi lead the brood of them down the hall to a few rooms downstairs. The beds were big in all of them and the rooms were empty other than the bed and nightstands. It was so impersonal and it stabbed Scott in the gut. Lydia and Malia went into the first room to help tuck Kira in to the bed. Derek and Braeden took the room across the hall, leaving two more rooms. Satomi went to the one at the end of the hall.

"This one is me." She explained. "The rest are upstairs. Brett can show you." She nodded towards Brett and he nodded curtly back in response. Silently, everyone who was left followed him up the stairs. He opened one door and the room inside was just as empty and impersonal. Scott made towards it and was about to bid everyone goodnight before grabbing Stiles by the wrist.

"I need to talk to you for a minute."

"All right." Stiles shrugged and followed Scott in. They both said good night and that left Mason and Liam. Scott could have eavesdropped, figuring out where the rest of them were sleeping but he was too concerned about Stiles' solid presence hovering by the bedside table, looking like he was contemplating fiddling with the knob on the lamp.

"What'd you want to talk about?" Stiles almost slurred in his sleepiness.

"I didn't really." Scott said, mustering up all the energy and courage he had left to surge forward and kiss Stiles quickly. When Scott pulled away he saw Stiles' eyes closed and his lips puckered out just a little like his lips were following Scott's.

"Oh." Stiles said, stupefied, eyes flashing open. He scratched the back of his head and bumped back against the nightstand. "I…er…I'm a bit tired tonight."

"So, you are interested in this?" Scott was eager to confirm.

"Well, yeah. Of course. But it's really super late."

"That's totally fine, Stiles. We can talk about it in the morning."

Stiles nodded. "That sounds good. We'll have clearer heads in the morning."

"For now, do you want to stay with me tonight?" Scott hoped he didn't look too hopeful but he was incredibly eager, nonetheless.

"That sounds really nice." Stiles nodded and clicked on the lamp behind him without looking back.

"Awesome." Scott knew he was wearing his goofiest grin but he didn't care as he turned the room's light off and peeled his ripped and bloody shirt off his body. Stiles followed suit and climbed into the comfortable bed right behind Scott, wrapping an arm around him and placing his hand on Scott's chest. He rubbed it a little, feeling the muscles and Scott's jugular notch.

"That's really nice." Scott admitted, leaning back into it.

Stiles hummed in agreement and they tried to fall asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Malia x Kira!!! I'm excited to add some to this ship! And also Liam/Mason/Brett. I've changed the rating and the warnings for this fic because I'm not going to be writing graphic sex scenes at all but there is definitely implied sex with underage teenagers, just like in the show. But I don't feel comfortable writing sex for them.

Malia was about to leave Kira in her bed, follow Lydia out but Kira croaked out her name. "Malia. Stay, please."

"Kira? What's wrong?"

"Scott."

"Scott?"

"We…broke up." Kira's eyes were closed and she looked so sweet and sad in the big empty bed.

"Me and Stiles broke up, too." Malia whispered, wanting to reach out and smooth Kira's hair back out of her face. Resisting, she went to the door that Lydia had left open and closed it. When she came back to the bed, she sat at the foot where Kira had her legs bent in a fetal position. "Do you want to talk about it?" Malia offered, trying to keep the sadness and the sympathy out of her voice.

Kira laughed, weakly. "Not really. I'd just like it if you stayed."

"You want me to sleep in here?"

"I could use a little werewolf comforting heat."

"I'm a werecoyote." Malia corrected with humor, not malice.

"I know. But you're still warm, right?"

Malia scoffed. "Tch. Yeah."

"Then that's perfect." Kira admitted, rolling onto her back and flipping open the covers on the other side as an invitation to Malia.

"Do you mind if I take off my pants?" Malia asked, not embarrassed about showing skin since she'd spent a large portion of her life as a coyote.

"I'd prefer it." Kira admitted and Malia wasn't sure if it was an innuendo or she just really didn't want rough jeans rubbing against her. But Malia didn't ask. Just unzipped her pants and got into the other side of the bed, laying on her back as well. Then, Kira rolled over and faced Malia. Malia didn't make eye contact, just laid on her back for a second before realizing the light was still on.

"Do you want me to turn the light off?" Malia finally asked after a few moments of silence.

"Yes, please." Kira's voice was small even though it was right by Malia's ear. Quickly, Malia jumped out of the bed, realizing it was cold now and turned the light off before hopping back into bed.

She hadn't thought about it, but when she got back in the bed she was facing Kira and in the dark Kira took the opportunity to put her hand on Malia's cheek.

"Malia, I think you're beautiful."

"Thank you." Malia felt uncomfortable—not because Kira was a girl, but because Malia still wasn't used to compliments, especially of her human form.

"Would you mind if I kissed you?" Kira pressed on and Malia could hear her heartbeat, her throat working quickly to push saliva down.

"I think maybe you shouldn't right now…" Malia answered, feeling bad for turning her down.

"Oh." Kira absolutely sounded disappointed.

"We both just ended relationships. I think we should…wait it out a bit, reassess in a while and see if we still want to try this."

"Oh." This time Kira's voice was different, obviously hopeful. "That sounds nice."

"Good." Malia felt satisfied then. "Good night, Kira."

"Good night."

…

Mason felt his heart racing a bit as Brett led them upstairs. He knew both Liam and Brett could hear it, if they were listening but he couldn't control it. He and Brett had hooked up before. That meant they had some sexual tension, no matter what. And then there was the way he felt about Liam…was there a way that all three of them would…?

 _No_. He told himself, trying to tamp it down, but he couldn't help remembering what he had gotten up to with Brett. He could just as easily imagine himself taking Liam's shirt off, licking his nipples and sucking him off. It would be so simple. Especially with Brett there. If they made Liam feel good enough, he wouldn't want to stop anyway. He was a teenage boy, for crying out loud!

"Mason," Brett looked directly at him and then deliberately shifted his gaze to Liam who was trying really hard not to look at Brett at all, making a face like he was smelling something unpleasant, "Would you like to stay the night with me?"

Mason couldn't speak. He knew the invitation was for him—Brett had said his name—but was it for Liam too? Did he want both of them?

Liam was spluttering, tripping over his own feet as he tried to back away from the door, looking anywhere but the other two boys, and scratching the back of his head.

"I—I—" Liam managed to get out and before he could say much more, Brett surged forward and grabbed Liam's face. He didn't kiss him but he was close and he whispered, loud enough for Mason to hear.

"I can smell you, Liam." Brett whispered, and god it was turning Mason on but it was also flaring his jealousy. Mason wanted to be the one to kiss Liam. At least kiss him before Brett did. To Mason's infinite relief, Brett moved away but then his heart started pumping again when Brett pulled Mason in for a kiss. Mason easily fell into it, remembering exactly what Brett's mouth felt like and how he kissed. It was nice and he was viscerally aware that Liam was still standing there, not moving at all, just watching.

"Kiss him, Mason." Brett said whispered as he pulled away from Mason.

"Wh- _what?_ " Mason stuttered.

Brett just raised an eyebrow that said he wasn't buying it. "Liam." He clarified, tipping his head towards Liam who was clearly still standing there and not completely repulsed by what was going on. It was a fucking miracle, for Mason who stepped towards his best friend and swallowed all of his fear and pride.

"Can I kiss you?" Mason's voice was strong but quiet. Liam bit his lip and then nodded. Mason had to take a second to absorb that. He wasn't sure if he'd seen right. But as he looked at Liam, saw the shine in his friend's eyes he knew it was true. He leaned forward and kissed Liam chastely.

"We should take this inside, boys." Brett chuckled and ushered the other two into his room, the only one they'd seen that wasn't completely barren and sad.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope to finish this up soon. Here's a new chapter? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Stiles couldn't help rising earlier than Scott, who had always been a heavy sleeper, to go down into the cells below the house. He felt bad for the chimera kids, victims of circumstance. But Theo, Theo he didn't feel sorry for. Fortunately, Theo was in a room separate from the cells that held Hayden, Josh, and Tracy who all seemed to be getting at least some rest on their cots in the individual cells.

He'd seen where Satomi had put the keys and he'd snatched them quietly before tiptoeing down, hoping to avoid waking anyone but Theo. In fact, he wouldn't admit it but he would have even enjoyed startling Theo awake.

As it was, Theo was awake, in a sense, but he seemed more like he was drifting in and out of consciousness, his arms suspended above his head by shackles, likely silver given the irritated redness around the wrists. It was just...satisfying, to Stiles. Theo blinked blurrily up at him and started backwards as much as his restraints would let him.

“Aren't you happy to see me, Theo?” Stiles asked, taunting just a little.

Clearly Theo didn't have the strength to form words; he muttered a few incoherent sounds and let his head flop forward. Stiles consoled himself in the knowledge that Theo’s shoulders were stiff and sore and that his arms must have been numb from all the blood being shunted back down out of them.

He was so glad Scott wasn't there to see him enjoying this because it would have vindicated Scott in the anger he had felt over Stiles hiding death from him, in thinking Stiles the kind of person capable of murder. He wasn't going to kill Theo, that much he knew; he just wanted some information out of the little whelp. The pack needed to know about the Dread Doctors, needed to know what they were and how to defeat them.

Over the years, he had learned a few things—from movies, from psychology, from the supernatural, from policing—and he thought he was capable enough to put these techniques into use there and then. Fortunately, he snooped around the compound and actually found a whole cabinet full of herbs and spices and, lo’ and behold, there had been wolfsbane and even mountain ash. Honestly, Satomi and her pack just kept on surprising Stiles with what they had around, storing poison right in the study across from the living room. He was sure there would have been endless useful resources on the shelves in the study if he had had time but he wanted to get to this before anyone else woke so that they wouldn't have the opportunity to think less of him. He would definitely have to ask to browse the books in there some time.

For now, he was armed with a nasty mixture of water, mountain ash, and wolfsbane that he could easily fling at Theo whenever the boy was uncooperative. Though, that was just the beginning.

…

Lydia was always an early riser, even when she had gotten very little sleep. There she was, at 8:13 in the morning according to the clock on the night stand, staring at the ceiling in a strange room. She was sure her mother would be worried, trying to contact her but she had no way of getting back with her. She didn't even know her mom’s cell phone number so she couldn't dial from another phone. Perhaps Stiles knew the home number since he used to call it all the time when they first started high school. She would just have to wait for Stiles to wake up. As it was, she needed to use the restroom and maybe see about fixing some coffee. But as she exited the room, she found the scent of coffee wafting down the hall. She freshened up in the bathroom and made her way to the kitchen. There, she found Satomi with a cup of coffee and a newspaper, doing the crossword puzzle.

“Help yourself.” Satomi waved over to the coffee maker. There was a stack of coffee cups next to it as well as sugar and cream.

“You're a saint.” Lydia sighed in relief as she made to pour a cup for herself.

“Coffee is one of my favorite things about America.” Satomi admitted and Lydia found herself chuckling, leaning over to look at how much progress she’d made with the crossword. It was about half completed and done in pen, all correct from what Lydia could tell.

“Anything interesting in the news, today?” She asked, not really expecting an answer.

“There was a small earthquake yesterday. Otherwise, not much.”

  
…

Kira was grateful to wake up in the warmth of Malia’s arms. Somehow, it made her feel like the fox was under control, even as she slipped slowly into consciousness where she would have had the least control. She wasn't sure what time it was but she wasn't altogether too concerned. Things weren't totally under control but they had done what they could for now. They had the chimeras and they had Theo and that put them ever closer to figuring out the Dread Doctors. She could relax, at least a little, and enjoy some time with Malia.

Because of her time spent as a coyote, Malia was a light light sleeper. She woke as soon as Kira shifted after waking up. Even just a little movement was enough. But Kira was fine with it because it meant they were both awake and they could move in closer and enjoy each other’s company. At least that's what Kira intended.

“I smell coffee.” Malia grumbled. It sounded like a complaint but it was clear Malia wasn't going to go back to sleep because the coffee was calling to her.

“Me too.” Kira admitted and finally cracked an eye to look over at the clock. It was almost 10:30. “Can we sleep just thirty more minutes?”

Malia sighed and rolled into Kira’s side. “I won't really be sleeping but I don't mind laying here for a little longer.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter: implied torture, blood (lots of blood)

Stiles had blood splattered up to his elbows when Derek and Braeden wandered down into the cellar. After everything that Theo had done to their group, Braeden couldn't blame Stiles for the anger she could see tensing his back as he poised to strike again.in fact, she didn't feel bad for Theo at all. She didn't move to stop him and Stiles didn't turn around but she watched silently as Derek surged forward to grab Stiles’ right wrist. All he had to do was tighten his grip a little beyond the normal human strength and the knife in Stiles’ hand was clattering to to the concrete floor.

“Stiles,” Derek said, just one word, and Stiles was collapsing, back against Derek.

Derek took Stiles’ weight easily and hefted him over to a wall to prop him up.

She didn't have super hearing but, over Theo’s rasping breaths, she heard Derek ask if Stiles had gotten any information out of Theo. Theo, for his part, seemed to be unconscious at the cessation of Stiles’ clearly torturous onslaught.

Derek asked again. “Did you get any information, Stiles?” He was clearly getting a little impatient but was reigning it in like they'd worked on and she could see Stiles was clearly hesitant. If she could see that from across the room then Derek probably heard Stiles’ traitorous heart and didn't need the verbal confirmation of Stiles’ meek “no.”

“I think we should take over from here.” Braeden called across to the two of them, indicating herself and Derek. “You need to...go wash up.”

“What if they see…” Stiles started but was cut off by a single look from her, clearly telling him she wasn't concerned about that right now and that Stiles could deal with the consequences of his actions like a grown up. “Right.” And he trooped off, out the way they had come in.

But before Stiles was gone, a chuckle from Theo stopped him in his tracks. He turned around in time to see Braeden, always prepared, pull a knife from a hidden sheath tucked into her pants. That got Theo smiling.

With knife in hand, Braeden turned her head to look at Stiles, telling him he needed to go. As she turned around, Theo spit a mouthful of blood at her face.

…

Liam was the first to spot Stiles coming up the stairs from the cellars. The whole group had seen Derek and Braeden go down to question Theo but had been told to stay put. As anxious as everyone was, that was really not flying and they all sprung up to their feet at the sight of Stiles, relief washing over most of them.

“I had no idea where you went!” Scott told Stiles, moving forward as if to embrace him but then he stopped.

Liam took one sniff of the air, finally focusing on something other than his own tension and caught the whiff of blood. Sure enough, there it was up and down Stiles’ arms.

“What...what did you do?” Scott’s eyes flashed, clearly angry, and the beta inside Liam took notice, ready to defend his alpha.

“I just...wanted some information.” Stiles shrugged, moving away from Scott.

On the one hand, Liam wanted to know whatever information he could get about this whole muddled situation but on the other hand...it sort of seemed like Stiles might have murdered someone. He stayed silent instead. The rest of the group watched in silence, unsure if they should even move a muscle.

“Let’s go get you cleaned up, huh?” Scott said, to the surprise of everyone, not least if all Liam. He watched as Scott placed a hand between Stiles’ shoulder blades and started to guide him down the hall, presumably to a shower.

Scott was likely not out of earshot, though he was likely preoccupied with Stiles anyway, but Liam had to ask. “What just happened?”

There was a collective shrug from the group who tensely tried to settle back down in the living room. If nothing else, it seemed like they could hold onto each other to keep calm. Liam was boxed in by Mason and Brett and Kira and Malia seemed cozy. And, despite them not knowing each other too well, Lydia and Lori were curled up next to each other, Lori doing her best to calm the impulse in Lydia that was screaming at her to go after him. Satomi, for her part, disappeared into the kitchen to put on tea for everyone.

…

Scott didn't bother undressing Stiles. Instead, he lowered him into a sitting position in the bathtub and turned on the shower. Leaning over the lip from the floor on the outside, he carefully scrubbed at the dried flaky blood on Stiles’ skin.

He would be lying if he said he didn't want to know what happened, if he had gotten any information, but it was clear that Stiles would not be forthcoming. His eyes were closed and he seemed like he was enjoying Scott’s touch. Scott couldn't help watching the red swirl down the drain.

Scott had always tried to be fair, tried to avoid grudges, tried to keep an open mind about people. But with Theo, it was difficult. Of course, Scott had trusted him...and perhaps that was the reason they wound up there in the first place, in that predicament; he could have been a little less trusting, a little more discerning. But that was just how Scott was. And now, he was finding it hard to feel sorry for whatever it was that Stiles had done to him, even if he had completely killed him.

“Is...is Theo dead?” Scott whispered, still rubbing Stiles’ arms clean to keep him calm and focused.

When Stiles shook his head, a fist of guilt and anxiety and fear unclenched itself from within Scott’s chest.

“Okay.” He said, instead of passing any judgment onto Stiles, keeping him calm, and remembering protocol from when dealing with Stiles’ panic attacks. “We’re okay.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been HOW long since I've updated?? Oh boy...........I'm so sorry I'm like this but I promise, I haven't given up on this and it WILL be finished. I think maybe there's one or two more chapters left and then it's over. The new trailer really kicked my ass and made me realize that like...fuck...the show is ending. So, without further ado...

“I think we’ll be okay if mostly everyone stays here,” Scott announced, coming back from down the hall. His shirt was wet but he seemed otherwise okay. It had to mean Stiles was okay, too.

 

If Mason was being honest, though, he wanted to leave. He knew the chimeras were under control and that should make him feel better but he wanted to see his parents. In his pocket, his neglected cellphone was burning a hole, reminding him that he’d put it on silent after ten missed calls from his mother and dozens more texts. If nothing else, he could call her back to tell her he was okay but he just couldn’t bring himself to; he wasn’t ready. Liam spoke for him.

 

“We captured Theo and the chimeras. I think some of us,” he looked directly at Mason, “need to go home for a while.”

 

Scott sighed. “As much as I’d like to tell you what to do, Mason,” Scott looked at him with tired eyes, “I’m not your mom or your alpha so if you really want to go, I can’t stop you. But I would advise against it.  _ Strongly _ .”

 

Admittedly, Mason felt a little sting when Scott said he wasn’t his alpha; somehow, getting all mixed up in this had made him feel like he  _ was  _ part of the pack. Still, his mom had probably worried herself sick, possibly went ahead and called in a missing persons report to BHPD. He should probably go home and show her personally that he hadn’t been kidnapped...even though technically...he was under 18 so…

 

He stopped thinking about that. “Can someone take me home?” he asked, instead, looking around. Kira looked like she was about to volunteer when Malia’s eyes whipped over to her. She immediately went still. He wondered what it was that had been communicated between them and it made him intensely jealous that he didn’t have any werewolf powers with which to snoop. 

 

“I’ll take you.” Brett offered and Mason felt a relief, like he was still being protected and that he was being told it was okay for him to go home since Brett was sort of an authority under Satomi and Satomi was an authority with Scott and well...Mason saw Scott as an authority regardless of his status as not a werewolf.

 

“I’ll come with!” Liam piped up and Mason felt a warm pit in his gut at that. Last night had been... _ interesting _ . 

 

He was happy to see that Liam wasn’t recoiling from him, from either of them. And again, he wished he had the wolf powers because maybe he could have found out about Liam’s interest sooner. Or interpret the look Scott exchanged with both Liam and Brett before they left the house. But in that moment, he needed to get back to his parents.

 

…

 

At some point, they decided to put on the television at a low volume, letting Lydia pick. She settled on a relatively inoffensive house hunting show and they all sipped their tea. It was really a waiting game and they were all tired with frayed nerves.

 

However, none of them were prepared for Derek and Braeden bursting through the door from the cellar with Theo handcuffed, bruised, and bloodied in tow.

 

“We have to get out now!” Derek shouted, rushing toward the front door then.

 

Lydia’s sense of panic got her limbs moving, breaking away from Lori and just barely remembering to set her tea down on the coffee table. Brett had taken Satomi’s car when he left with Liam and Mason but Derek and Braeden’s van was large so she followed them out. Lori was right behind her, grabbing onto her wrist to be pulled out into the afternoon sun.

 

Stiles had dried off and Satomi had offered him fresh clothes that presumably came from Brett, but Lydia couldn’t be sure. In his fresh plaid, he jogged after Scott who was following Malia as she charged out of the front door holding Kira’s hand. Tacitly, it seemed to be agreed upon that Satomi would be sitting this battle out. She was holding the fort down and also preserving herself in her older age. 

 

They hadn’t even waited for Derek to tell them why they couldn’t stay there; they had all just leaped into action, following his lead. It was clear he was a natural leader, someone used to giving orders and being in charge, but it was like they were charging into a bloody battle. Still, Derek’s confidence and leadership didn’t stop Lydia from feeling a nervous pit in her stomach. That was never good for a banshee. Someone was going to die. The question was who? 

 

The back of the van only had bench seating on either side and a lot of guns. With another set of handcuffs, Braeden cuffed Theo to the wall at the back of the van, inviting Lydia and Lori to climb in too before slamming the doors. She watched as Braeden climbed into the passenger seat, talking rapidly into her phone. She didn’t catch all of it, suspecting that some of it was in a language other than English, but she heard “generator,” she was pretty sure. Then, Derek climbed into the driver’s seat and was whipping out of the driveway, nearly fishtailing. Lydia was thrown around and Theo was laughing, the blood dried and cracking on his face.

 

When they finally got steady on the road and Braeden and hung up on her call, Derek finally found Lydia’s eyes in the rearview mirror. She and Lori scooted up so they were behind the front seats instead of near Theo. Then, Derek explained.

 

“The Dread Doctors know where Theo is at all times.”

 

The realization that the Doctors could have murdered them all in their sleep at any point the previous night became painful clear then.

 

“Where are we going?” Lori spoke up, nearly inaudible. 

 

She had hardly spoken at all in the previous 12 hours, but she had clung to Lydia as mutual support. Lydia had to admit, she was a bit surprised at the girl’s voice.

 

“The Nematon,” Braeden responded, “but first I have to make one quick pit stop.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is the Battle (tm) and then that's all, folks!

They pulled up to a storage facility on the outskirts of town, Braeden giving Derek directions to get here. She gave him the code for the gate and he had to enter it twice but it finally worked. It wasn't her storage unit, but she did have access to it. She had them wait in the car while she opened up the combination lock and disappeared into the dark recesses. She pulled up the flashlight from her phone and navigated through the barely existent paths until she found a generator off to one side. It was heavy but nothing she couldn't handle. 

 

When she came back out, she made eye contact with Derek, grinning. His window was still rolled down so she called out to him.

 

“Two thousand watts sound good to you?” she asked, laughing.

 

He smiled back, loving it when she smiled but clearly still ill at ease.

 

“You got more than one of those?” he asked.

 

“Let me load this up and then I'll check.”

 

Fortunately, the people who did rent out the storage unit were  _ overly  _ prepared weirdos. After a minute or two, she was able to locate another generator in the dimness and load it into the back with Lydia and Lori holding onto them.

 

“If she can't make due with 4000 watts,” Braeden said, climbing back into the passenger seat, “I don't know what else we can do…”

 

“Yeah, well, we don't have too many other options.” Derek grumbled, waving awkwardly at someone else who was trying to back up to another unit. Braeden knew he wasn’t too happy with the idea that people could place them at the unit at that time but they weren’t doing anything illegal so they should be okay. Still, he hightailed out of the storage facility once he cleared the gate.

 

...

 

Malia knew exactly where the Nematon was, even without being told. She didn't know that she did know, but there had always been a pull there, no matter how faint. She realized that when she had been living as a coyote that she had spent a lot of her time in the vicinity of it but of course hadn't known it at the time. Thinking back, that area of the woods was the closest thing to home she had yet to experience.

 

But there they were, Malia, Scott, Stiles, and Kira, all waiting for the rest of them to show up. Scott was frantically calling Liam repeatedly until he finally got an answer. She could hear Liam’s voice on the other end.

 

“What's going on?” she heard Liam say.

 

“We had to leave Satomi’s,” Scott explained. “Do you know where the Nematon is?”

 

After a pause, Liam answered in the affirmative, though Malia wasn't even sure if Liam had ever  _ seen  _ the Nematon. Its pull was that strong. Maybe Brett would be more familiar with it.

 

Malia reached out and grabbed Kira’s hand for comfort, squeezing it reassuringly. Kira looked worried but Malia found herself thrilled to be face to face with the other girl, even with the threat of battle looming over their whole pack. 

 

…

 

Kira watched as Derek and Lori, the two werewolves, manhandled Liam—still in chains—across the leaf-strewn forest floor. Lydia and Braeden were carrying the two generators meant for Kira to use and placed them down when they got to the clearing. Derek had explained the plan to her briefly before they left Satomi’s compound but she was nervous. Her fox had been acting up, she was a chimera, and she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to control anything. What if she turned on her teammates, her friends?

 

It was sunny out and they had to squint into the brightness shining in the clearing around the Nematon. But they all stood around, just...waiting, in anticipation of the fight. It seemed they all knew they’d be totally screwed if the Dread Doctors showed up and they weren’t prepared but the longer they waited, the longer they’d have to relax and let their guards down.

 

“What are we waiting for?” Stiles exploded awkwardly, his ADHD kicking in from the silence. They all looked at him and then back to Derek and Braeden, who were the adults in this situation.

 

“Can you summon them?” Braeden asked, stepping forward with an electric shock baton that she had pulled from a holster at her hip and was clearly meant to threaten Theo with.

 

Theo looked hesitant, like he wasn't going to answer but then said “No, but they’ll be here soon enough. They’ve gone almost six whole hours without having me on a short leash.” He laughed, feral and rabid.

 

No one else found it funny.

 

“You’ll just have to be on your toes.” he smirked.

 

Braeden clearly didn’t have the patience for his mouth and jabbed the baton into his gut. The group watched as Theo writhed with the shock but Kira felt something stir in her and she wasn’t sure what it was—good or bad. It was definitely the fox; she just wasn’t sure if she was the one telling it to come out. But she was so glad for Malia’s hand in hers, warm and ever present. It was what she needed at that moment. And when Malia squeezed, the stirring stopped. It seemed like Mala was calming the fox, somehow. Maybe she could do this after all?

 

“Kira,” Derek spoke then, gently, like Kira was delicate, “while we have some time, do you think maybe you should try to practice with the electricity?”

 

Kira froze for a second. Maybe she was delicate.  _ Oh god, oh god, oh god _ , she thought. But after a few seconds, she bit her lip and nodded. No one was smiling exactly but they were all looking at her expectantly, if not supportively. 

 

“Let’s do this.” she agreed.

 

At that, Braeden stepped away from Theo and placed her baton back in the holster. Then, she nodded to Lydia and they both went to work starting up the generators.  _ Fuck _ , she was nervous about this. She could kill everyone there if she messed up or if the fox took over. Malia let go of her hand but nodded.

 

“I’m gonna be right here,” Malia assured.

 

Kira took a deep breath and moved toward the generators, both now loudly roaring in the clearing. If Theo’s presence didn’t summon the Doctors, the noise certainly would.

 

“Okay.”


End file.
